no, not if you consider what god is, and what god is capable of. it's silly to think that men could thwart god and/or his will. i think that many people use religion as an excuse to avoid god, religious and atheists alike.
no, not if you consider what god is, and what god is capable of. it's silly to think that men could thwart god and/or his will. i think that many people use religion as an excuse to avoid god, religious and atheists alike.
It's silly to think that people could gain knowledge of good and evil by eating a piece of fruit, but there it is.
It's silly to think that god could create an entire universe in six days but yet needed a human's help to save the animals when he decides to flood the world and start over, but there it is.
(Why do I always hear that damn song MacArthur Park in my head when I think of that? "Someone left the cake out in the rain and I don't think that I can take, 'cuz it took so long to bake it and I'll never have that recipe again." ARRGHHH)
You've never heard the word day used in reference to an epoch? I quote the 12th definition at dictionary.com: "period of existence, power, or influence". So, a day CAN be interpreted differently.
The claim isn't that the Bible was somehow transcribed from some ancient stenographer, but rather that it was inspired by God. In non-spiritual terms, this would be saying that the authors of the Bible had ideas that they then wrote down. The religious belief is that those ideas were divine truth. In my explanations for how the divine is manifested in our universe, we could just as easily say that the belief is that these ideas were realized to be true before they could be scientifically proven.
So, with that foundational understanding in place, these ideas would still be restricted by other technological or exploratory limitations of the day (again, I'm not referring to a 24-hr period). Case in point: 'the earth', or 'the known lands'. Noah didn't even know what a planet or globe was. Why would anyone think that is what he was referring to (or rather, Moses - who no doubt receive it by verbal tradition). Given that he couldn't possibly be referring to the entire planet, one SHOULD read that entire section as referencing the whole of what they knew - or perhaps that everything was flooded as far as the eye could see. And for THAT we have archaeological evidence.
And finally, where does it say flowers came before trees?
Sure if it said, "Back in the day", but it specifically says a certain number of days, and people back then knew what a day was. If Noah was inspired by God, God would have revealed some truth that he could not have known at the time. There is no such information in the Bible. And there was no worldwide flood.
Personally, I have no problems accepting much of the Bible as myths, legends and/or allegory. It actually makes more sense like that. The problem is, as soon as you accept that then it no longer carries any real "authority".
I have no problems with much of the philosophy I learned being raised as a Christian. The Golden Rule is really good advice. (BTW, Jesus wasn't the only one to say it. A lot of people have realized this "truth".) I just don't buy any of the other trimmings that go along with it.
I have no problems with much of the philosophy I learned being raised as a Christian. The Golden Rule is really good advice. (BTW, Jesus wasn't the only one to say it. A lot of people have realized this "truth".) I just don't buy any of the other trimmings that go along with it.
Have you ever been evaluated? If not, how could you expect to be diagnosed? From what you've posted here, you should certainly see a competent mental health care specialist. If you're evaluated as having no mental health issues, it would add verisimilitude to your claims.
I don't know... did you ever read Ezekiel? Do you think he would pass any sort of psychiatric evaluation?
Just saying...
Sooooo murder is okay then because we all die in the end anyway? is that what you're saying?
I guess afterall we are just sending them to heaven which is suppose to be a pretty nice place if you believe the religious... which I don't of course.
KRR
If you think of what the believers say god is, omnipotent/omniscience, then the idea that he/she/it would have any need or desire to create a universe for the likes of us is pretty damn inane IYAM.
KRR
Ezekiel saw a wheel of fire, didn't he? All of these are stories and 'testimony' by people who have spent their life trudging around in the desert getting their brains baked by the sun.
Zeke would be committed in a New York minute.
At least he would have before Reagan gutted the mental health care system.
Seriously, what makes the voices in your head any different then the voices in the heads of hundreds of thousands of patients in mental hospitals who are just a convincing as you are about the voices in their heads?
Perhaps they are misinterpreting the voices of the spirits which then drive them insane, but if these were kindly spirits should they not leave when they determine that they are a detriment to the human that they are communicating with?
KRR
Me either, it's a collection of interesting fables, with morals, just like tales from the brothers Grimm. Things do no have to be true, to contain truth. We don't make cups out of water, for instance.
Other people's warped view of reality is in no way convenient for me.
People claim to have witnessed all manner of things. God, the Devil, spirits, Yeti, the Loch Ness Monster, alien abduction. Are we to accept all of these disparate things as valid?
Of course, you'll twist other people's words, in fact you have done, and said that alien abductions are in actual fact evil spirits, because you don't believe other people's testimony, being so wrapped up in your own delusion. Now, if you can't accept their stories, why would you think for a minute yours are any more compelling? Simply because you tell a more grandiose tale?
Then why not kill yourself and go meet your maker right now?
Odd how suicide is a sin, when it would get folks closer to God, eh? Why is that, oh yes, it's because the church want to milk their cash cows via tithes for the longest period possible.
what's the rush? i think i'm here for a reason, to live being the primary, and to take it upon myself to extinguish that would be disrespectful and illogical.
i don't belong to any organized religious group and you know that.
you know, you may want to take a step back and consider some cohesive, valid argument occasionally, because you are just defensive, and all over the board.
i don't think it's more grandiose, whatever that's supposed to mean.
in all fairness, the spiritual phenomenon i've witnessed isn't the strangest thing i've ever seen.
and in regards to my ideas about the abduction phenomenon, they're not only based on my own spiritual experience, but also based on, and confirmed by, an abductee's testimony, and some pretty solid logic.
Your logic suggests that you know God's plan. True "righteousness" requires the capacity for true "evil". Likewise, true faith requires the capacity for doubt. The greater the capacity for doubt, the greater one's faith in overcoming it.
as far as i can tell, nothing except intentions.
while the experience i had in 2005 didn't happen because i was insane, dealing with it, trying to reconcile it, and the natural effects of it damn near did drive me insane. unless you've been through something like this, it's impossible to know how completely frustrating, isolating, and startling an experience like this can be, and that's coming from someone who had already believed in such phenomenon and had a long standing relationship with god going in.
i've proposed, after listening to reactions from the majority of atheists out here, that if they were to be confronted with any spiritual activity, whether benevolent or malicious, they would automatically condemn themselves to insanity, which is a reflection of the observer's intentions.
there are also the intentions of the spirit to consider though, because there are benevolent, and malicious spirits, and the fruit of interactions with these two are telling. i think that people who are prone to believing lies (iow they want to), and are not discerning, are very susceptible to demonic influence. imo, if you desire to be lied to, there's always something there that will fulfill that desire. but if you want the truth, it's out there as well.
my guess is that they're not kindly spirits. and i know that humans are capable of discerning this for themselves, and are not defenseless in this regard.
who's really talking about murder here? phlog's comment blames the death of us all on a murderous god.
iow, he's just throwing a tantrum as usual.
i suppose you didn't know that the word "fruit" is used many times in the bible, and hardly ever is referring to an actual piece of fruit.
and i suppose you didn't know that time frames in the bible are often not what we equate them to.
your references here can be summed up nicely by saying, you can't see the forrest through the trees.